End of the Rainbow

For 1947 film with this title, see Northwest Outpost.
Not to be confused with At the End of the Rainbow.
End of the Rainbow
Written by Peter Quilter
Characters Judy Garland
Anthony
Mickey Deans
Concierge
Stage Manager
BBC Announcer
Date premiered 2005
Place premiered Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Australia
Original language English
Subject The last months of Judy Garland's life
Genre Drama / Musical
Setting London, December 1968

End of the Rainbow is a musical drama by Peter Quilter, which focuses on Judy Garland in the months leading up to her death in 1969. After a Sydney premiere in 2005, the show has played on the West End in London and a Broadway production opened in 2012.

Synopsis

Judy Garland is staying in London, along with young new fiancé Mickey Deans and loyal friend and pianist Anthony, preparing for her five-week run of shows at The Talk of the Town. Garland hopes that her act will help her maintain her star profile, especially considering a recent string of bad press against her. However, she still struggles with both her drug addictions and her strained relationships with the men around her.

Production history

The show premièred in August 2005 at the Sydney Opera House in Australia starring Caroline O’Connor as Garland.[1] It ran at the Theatre Royal, Sydney in May 2006, again with O'Connor.[2] It also played at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[3]

It was then performed from February 5–20, 2010 at Northampton's Royal & Derngate as part of their Addicted To You season. This production was directed by Terry Johnson and starred Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland, with Hilton McRae as Anthony and Stephen Hagan as Mickey Deans.[4] End of the Rainbow ran in the West End from 16 November 2010 to 21 May 2011 at Trafalgar Studios, starring Tracie Bennett.[5][6] The West End production received nominations for four Olivier Awards, including Best Actress for Bennett, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for McRae and Best New Play. The show then toured in the UK, starting in Northampton, from 25 August and ending December 2011 in Richmond. .[3]

End of the Rainbow made its American premiere at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, running from January 28 to March 11, 2012. Directed by Terry Johnson, Tracie Bennett repeated her role as Garland.[7] The play opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on March 19, 2012 in previews and officially on April 2. In addition to Bennett, the cast features Michael Cumpsty as Anthony, Tom Pelphrey as Mickey Deans, and Jay Russell.[6][8] Bennett and Cumpsty received Tony Award nominations for their performances. Bennett also received the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance. The show ran 176 performances on Broadway and subsequently played a critically acclaimed season at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

End of the Rainbow (Al final del arcoíris) premiered in Madrid, January 2011, at the Teatro Marquina with Natalia Dicenta as Judy Garland, Miguel Rellán as Anthony and Javier Mora as Mickey Deans.

End of the Rainbow premiered in Brazil, November 11, at the Teatro Fashion Mall with Cláudia Netto as Judy and Igor Rickli as Mickey Deans.

The show also had its Portuguese première in January 2012 at the Teatro Politeama[9] in Lisbon. The cast was led by Vanessa as Judy Garland, with Carlos Quintas and Hugo Rendas.

There have also been successful productions of the show in Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Krkow, Prague, Sofia, Rotterdam and Helsinki. New productions will open in the 13-14 season in Christchurch, St Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, Rome, Stockholm, Antwerp, Klagenfurt, Miami, Denver and Milwaukee.

The 2014 Milwaukee Repertory Theatre production of End of the Rainbow starred Hollis Resnik as Garland.

Kathy St. George played Garland in the 2014 Actors' Playhouse production of End of the Rainbow at the Miracle Theatre in Miami.

End of the Rainbow (Al final del arcoíris) premiered in Buenos Aires, Argentina February the 5th, 2014 starring Karina K as Garland, Antonio Grimau and Federico Amador as Mickey Deans.

Anna Gangai appeared as Garland in End of the Rainbow at the Cellar Theatre at San Antonio's The Playhouse in 2014.

Musical numbers

Recording

End of the Rainbow
Studio album by Tracie Bennett
Released January 31, 2011
Genre Showtunes

A cast recording of the London production was released on January 31, 2011 by Angel Studios featuring Tracie Bennett's renditions of both the play's songs and other Garland numbers.[10]

Track listing

All tracks performed by Tracie Bennett, unless noted.

No. Title Length
1. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" / "Just In Time" (Medley)  
2. "I Could Go On Singing"    
3. "Smile"    
4. ""The Bells Are Ringing for Me and My Girl" / "You Made Me Love You" / "The Trolley Song"" (Medley)  
5. "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart"    
6. "The Man That Got Away"    
7. "Come Rain or Come Shine"    
8. "When You're Smiling"    
9. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"    
10. "San Francisco"    
11. "When the Sun Comes Out"    
12. "Get Happy" / "By Myself" (Medley)  
13. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Piano solo by Simon Lee)  

References

  1. ↑ Hallett, Bruce." 'End of the Rainbow', Ensemble Theatre, Opera House, August 4; Garland's last days come alive" smh.com.au, August 6, 2005
  2. ↑ Doran, Siobhán."'End of The Rainbow' " SydneyStage.com.au, 8 May 2006
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Girvan, Andrew.Bennett Is Garland Again, End of the Rainbow Tours" whatsonstage.com, 23 June 2011
  4. ↑ "Judy Garland drama shows her battle with drugs" BBC.com, February 10, 2010
  5. ↑ Staff. " 'End of the Rainbow' Starring Olivier Winner Tracie Bennett Extends West End Run" Broadway.com, January 7, 2011
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Healy, Patrick. End of the Rainbow' Producers Aim for Broadway" The New York Times, artsbeat.blogs, April 19, 2011
  7. ↑ "Guthrie Theater Announces 2011-2012 Season" GuthrieTheater.org, accessed March 19, 2012
  8. ↑ Hetrick, Adam."Stormy Weather": End of the Rainbow Begins Broadway Run March 19 at the Belasco Theatre" Playbill.com, March 19, 2012
  9. ↑ Garland filipelaferia.pt, accessed March 19, 2012 (in Portuguese)
  10. ↑ "'End Of The Rainbow': Tracie Bennett Sings Judy CD" cduniverse.com, accessed March 20, 2012

External links